


The First And Only Lost One

by HerenorThereNearnorFar



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: But In A Really Polite Way, Gen, Just Some Light Colonization And Hostage Taking, Kidnapping, Making Off With Each Other's Children, Over The Next few Thousand Years It'll Get Much Worse, POV Child, VERY Early Stages of the Mandalorian Jedi Wars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-07-02 16:59:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15800784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HerenorThereNearnorFar/pseuds/HerenorThereNearnorFar
Summary: There's a war on and the Tan Vizsla has a little brother to worry about- a little brother who has just attracted the attention of the Jedi.





	The First And Only Lost One

Tan Vizsla was prepared to consider that maybe the Republic scum weren’t _that_ bad. Certainly not proper people like the Mando’ade, but tolerable for foreign invaders.

In the two months since the forces of the Republic had taken the colony moon off of Phindar, they’d established solid control over the satellite, however there hadn’t been widespread executions like Tan was expecting. There hadn’t even been that much pillaging or property destruction. Admittedly his parents were imprisoned, but they’d since they’d refused to surrender (surrender was for the weak) this was an entirely sensible move. The prison was nice, Tan had gotten to talk to them twice and they’d said they were safe and angry.

The fussy social workers the Republic had brought in to look after all of the children had even assured him that they’d probably all be sent back home to Mandalore once the Jedi and the Mand’alor negotiated terms.

It was just a matter of waiting it out in the makeshift barracks in the old hydroponics garden, trying to keep control of the little ones, and talking his friends down from any silly stunts. Tan had honor too, but trying to make a daring escape now would only put the little kids, too young to even know how to fight, in danger.

Besides, there might be Jedi out there.

None of them had seen the _jetii_. The attack on the colony had happened at night and most of them had woken up to find normal sentient soldiers or peacekeeping droids standing over their beds telling them to wake up and get dressed. One day they’d been on the frontlines of the crusade to expand Mandalorian Space, and the next they’d been prisoners of war. But Sabin, the lead terraformer’s oldest daughter, swore she had heard the sound of a lightsaber as the night guards fought for their lives, and in between sobbing for his father Fell Svar babbled about blades of light outside of his window.

The chances there was a monster out there, just waiting to pounce on anyone who tried to run, was too high to risk. Not with the babies to think of. No, Tan had always been very good at figuring out lies and the people from the Republic weren’t lying. They’d go home. He’d dreamed about it, and his mother put a lot of stock in dreams.

 

 

 

First though, they went to Phindar. It simply wasn’t safe on the moon anymore, the social workers said. There were orphanages on Phindar and authorities to help sort through all of them. They could help them get home faster. After some quick consultations among themselves, Tan and his companions were forced to admit that their home really wasn’t meant to host a sizeable occupying force (for good reason) and although they were still keeping their options for staging a violent revolt they would go to Phindar quietly.

Tan collected his little brother and baby sister, as well as two of his younger cousins from the nearest branch of house Vizsla, shouldered their bags, and followed the directions to get on the transport. Maybe because they were used to weak, soft Core world children who needed help with everything, the nurses and childminders kept trying to interfere. Tan didn’t know why- even his little brother, who was something of a child prodigy was behaving himself. Family could be relied on when no one else could.

Phindar had been a Republic controlled world for years, despite the best efforts of Mandalorian forces. The result was a staggering military presence and a quietly fortresslike architectural design in their main city. The building they were put in looked like it was designed to withstand a ground siege, and maybe it was. The doors certainly locked from both sides, Tan noted.

An even jollier social worker with a plummy Coruscanti accent greeted them there, showed them rooms of hastily made up beds (“I’m afraid no one made preparations for children!”), a handful of battered looking nurse droids, and a medical room where he insisted everyone get a checkup before they could go eat.

Using his family name (the Vizslas were a decent house, especially compared to some of the other colonists) Tan pushed his way to the front of the line. Mavi was fussing and since she was one of the loudest children in the colony he considered it a public duty for his group to go first. Besides, his brother and cousins, all bright children, were starting to look curious about their surroundings.

The nurse, a Phindian in blue, drew some blood from everyone, took their weight and height, marked down any previous injuries, and asked if they’d been treated well in custody. Tan told him it had been fine other than the whole ‘prisoner’ thing- a joke that clearly didn’t land.

The food was better than hydroponic crops or space rations, however, and it was warmer than the permanently over air conditioned halls of Phindarva-3. He’d managed to sneak some scraps of Beskar into his luggage- not a full armor set but enough to keep home close to his heart. And he’d seen the way some of the more wily kids had been looking at those nanny droids. They could make their heroic escape yet.

And if not, surely they would still go home. They’d all still go home.  


 

 

 

A few weeks later, the Jedi came to take his little brother.

It was hard to tell they were a Jedi at first. They didn’t look like the stories said, monsters in robes dyed brown with blood. It was just one short, green man with dull horns sticking out of his head and a heavy cream poncho over soft clothing. He looked like an artist, called to something other than battle, and had the quiet voice of a teacher.

“Do you have family the Republic could contact?” he’d asked Tan after pulling him away to the med-center. “Something has… come up with your brother.”

“There’s our parents,” Tan said, biting his lip. It had been a 27 days. He was beginning to wonder if they were ever going home, if Mandalore would ever come to rescue them.

A small frown passed over the alien’s face. He wasn’t from any recognizable species- but then again, free trade through Mandalorian space had become rather complicated as the war had picked up. Tan had mostly only seen Mandalorians of other species, and or the disparate crews of travelling traders. “I’m afraid we’re having difficulty on that account. Cosmopolitically… things have become complicated, I’m afraid. Do you have family within Republic space? Defectors or mercenaries- I know Mandalorians sometimes turn towards crime.”

“We don’t!” Tan protested, “Only exiles do that. And why do you need know? I’m almost an adult, I can speak for my family.”

For a moment, the alien sized him up. Then, as if seeing something lacking, he went back to staring over Tan’s head. “No, you’re too young. There was a… interesting result on your younger brother’s medical tests. Now we have to decide what to do about it.”

Tarre was only five, and he didn’t seem terminally ill. He was clever and far faster than any of the other children his age, and that hadn’t changed over the last few weeks they’d been in this dull, dark house in Republic space. If anything, he’d been even more helpful than usual. He had a way of calming down others around him that Tan had appreciated.

Tan told the man as much and he smiled. “Yes, that sounds about right. Well, since you are the closest he has to a parent, may I meet him?”

It seemed harmless Perhaps it should have been concerning that the man discounted their parents so quickly. There was definitely something strange about the way he seemed to look right through you. But Tan was too worried about Tarre’s health to notice those things.

He went and fetched his brother from lunch.

“Don’t tell him anything,” Tan warned, in their mother tongue. “Just pretend you only speak Mando’a.”

“But I don’t,” Tarre pointed out in Basic. Sometimes you simply couldn’t reason with precocious children.

When they reached the little med-center again, Tarre froze.

His hand was trembling in Tan’s and for a moment he worried his brother really was sick.

“Hello,” the green man said, “Su cuy'gar, yes?”

“You don’t say it right,” Tarre complained, though the accent wasn’t half bad for an outsider. He was moving, slowly but inexorably, towards the stranger, as if drawn by magnetism. Tarre tended to latch onto meaningless things- pretty bits of crystal and old carvings and random people he found in the market who shared his sharp eyes. He had what their mother called the Knack for Trouble and Dreaming. Tan was used to holding him back.

But, like most of Tarre’s new favorite people, this one didn’t seem to mind much. “It’s fine, young Mandalorian,” he said, and Tan found his grip on his brother’s shoulder relaxing. Tarre barrelled towards the doctor? teacher? bureaucrat? full force.

“Could I do some more tests?” The man stepping a little way from Tarre and gesturing for him to give them some space. “It shouldn’t take more than an hour and I can do them here.”

“Will he be fine without them?” Tan asked anxiously. Back by the nurse droid’s station his brother was trying to turn on the the little comp-server again.

“He’ll live regardless, if that’s what you’re worried about,” he said, and Tan felt a weight ease off his heart. “But his life could be more difficult without the clarity I could provide.”

“Only if you tell our parents the results. They’ll want to know.” It had been such a long time since Tan had gotten confirmation that they were even still alive. Surely they’d relish any news- even concerning news- about their children.

The concerned but distant look was back, along with some hesitance this time. “I’ll do my best, young man, but I must warn you, a large group of Mandalorians in Republic custody attempted escape from a transport ship about a week ago. Your entire family was among them. We have concerns about a hyperspace crash.”

“Oh.”

Tan wanted to grab Tarre back from these people, who had separated his family and hadn’t even bothered to tell him when his own clan was presumed dead.

On the other hand, if he was terribly sick it was important to know.

“An hour,” Tan said, and fled. He had news to deliver.

 

 

 

When he came back, the green man in his modest clothes and loose poncho was gone. So was Tarre.

It took another hour of shouting to piece together the story.

Sabin had been watching the door, as always, in her constant quest to find a way out. She said Tarre and the man had left about forty-five minutes after Tan had last spoken to them. Tarre had been holding the man’s hand and laughing.

Layne said she had heard them talking about lights. Gar said he’d been in the hall outside the med-center when he’d heard Tarre shouting about _jetii._  
  
Orman the big social worker from Coruscant said that yes, the Jedi had come to check on Tarre. His midichlorian counts had come back very high. But it was just supposed to be a standard checkup. They were technically in the Republic foster system now, even if they were “special cases”, and this was standard. He really wasn’t supposed to take a child without filling out the proper paperwork-

Then Tan tried to tackle him and there was a lot of screaming and the soldiers from outside got called in.

 

 

 

They said the _jetii_ stole little children, but no one really believed that after they were about six. It was just what parents said to scare you. Jedi were terrible, yes, but out of all the stories about them, this one had the least teeth. Oh, everyone had a cousin whose brother’s husband’s clanmate had heard from a tradesman that in the Republic the Jedi just _took_ children, but there wasn’t much truth other than that. And given that there was plenty of evidence of them having dark magics and evil mindreading and swords made of lasers, it was ironically harder to believe the more spurious rumours. How did you slander an enemy that was just so openly inhuman?

They’d taken his brother though. They’d taken his brother and they’d done it in broad daylight with quiet smiles and misleading words.

“We need to get out of this place,” he told the little assembled group of eleven and twelve year olds- all of them not quite old enough to be adults but old enough to act like them. (There had been a few teenagers at first, but they’d all fought too hard and had all eventually been taken away.)

Sabin Kryze rolled her eyes. “Yeah, space-brain. I know you’ve been busy with the babies and all that, but we’ve been planning an escape for weeks.”

In the shadows of the dark little room, someone nudged her. “Be nice to him,” Maral whispered, “The jedi just took Tarre.”

 

 

 

Tarre was brilliant- one of the most brilliant children on the colony. That was still no excuse. Tan had nearly reached adulthood. He was supposed to be responsible while his parents were away. He was supposed to hold his clan and house together. The Vizsla legacy had depended on him and he’d failed to protect what was most important.

If you couldn’t safeguard your family, were you even a warrior at all?

He refused to let himself wallow in pity. There was still baby Mavi to think of, and his nine year old cousins Mhur and Ore who depended on him for good judgement, and all the other _adike_ too small to fend for themselves. Sabin was a good planner, but she wasn’t good with babies and she had four younger sisters. Tan was happy to carry some of that burden if it took his mind off of the tortures Tarre was probably going through.  
  
  


 

 

There were places to hide on Phindar. Even with several dozen non-cooperative personnel, it wasn’t too hard to escape from their lodgings.

There were not many places to get off world. All the spaceports were well guarded. None of them knew how to fly alone. Sneaking into some place with their entourage was a lot harder than sneaking out of one.

So they hid. It was a large, well developed world, with many a hidden corner and forgotten alley among the detritus of war and commerce. Luckily the Republic’s presence meant that a few extra human children could go unnoticed, for the time being. The locals, while not well inclined to Mandalorians, were also pragmatic people.

He turned thirteen. Mavi learned to walk and forgot how to speak Mando’a

Tan didn’t pay attention to the other projects- the efforts to make contact with Mandalore or organize a rescue mission. His job was to keep everyone fed. Only when the attack broke through the surface defenses and a small, well accompanied ship landed right at their door, did he realize that they were being saved.

It wasn’t the handful of weeks he’d been promised, but finally, _finally,_ they were going home.

His delight turned to grief as he saw his mother’s armor among the group running to shepard them aboard.

Yai’s father made the final headcount and made no comment when they came up one short. The ship took off, everyone already retreating.

Tan started to cry. He wasn’t alone, he was surrounded by joyful reunions, but the joy just wouldn’t come.

His mother took off her helmet, revealing a few scars she hadn’t had before. She held him, and his sister, and the twins whose parents had not come. Her arms could barely contain them all, especially as the ship jolted and tilted in the sky.

“Tarre is gone,” Mhur whispered.

“I know.”

“It’s all my fault,” Tan sobbed.

She let go of the others to grab his face, “No, it’s not. You cannot forestall what was going to happen. The night after the attack, with binders on my hands, I dreamed about someone taking Tarre away. I dreamed about what was the come, in all its sorrow.” She had a sad smile and Tan was fairly sure that his father and uncles were dead. Tan tried to bury his head in her shoulder. She pushed him back, made him look at her.

“I saw other things too. We’re going to get him back, do you hear me? He’s going to come home. We’ll bring his heart home.”

Tan could almost share her certainty. But the Jedi were such fickle creatures and he had lost his faith in dreaming.


End file.
